White Guy Thigh

I've recently taken an interest in improving my physical fitness, and have been spending time everyday working out in the facility offered for free through my university. It's a pretty impressive set up, with a fingerprint-reading system for entry and loads of machines so that it never feels over populated. However, there is one downfall to working out in a gym located in Europe, and that is the exposure of too many male thighs. I've tried at different points in my life not to be such a critical person, but the phase has never lasted and I've come to terms with the fact that I am, indeed, a judgmental human being. Thus, while I am exercising, I tend to observe most of the people mingling about and I cannot help but notice and cringe every time a man with short shorts and pale legs walks by. Given the fact that I am in Ireland and there is an over abundance of European exchange students, I spend just as much time wincing at their fashion as I do lifting weights. The typical gym apparel seen on the men here is as follows: running shoes, often times sporting either the Puma or Addidas logos, and on occasion do not have laces; visible socks, sometimes folded down neatly (I guess ankle socks haven't made it across the pond yet); shorts that are a length my conservative Christian high school wouldn't have approved of; and a polo shirt. Yes, a polo shirt accompanied with athletic shorts. I don't know how this combination came to be "gym appropriate," or even just casually acceptable, but it is. Sigh. Do they even realize how ridiculous they look? As they gaze into the mirror checking out their muscles and pumping iron, I examine their getup and try hard not to laugh.
When I walk back to my flat after a hard workout, people I pass along the street stare at my legs, not because they are attractive, but I think because they are not used to seeing someone walking around in shorts. Ireland can be pretty cold, even on a sunny day, and the only time I really see girls with exposed legs is on the weekends at the pubs where they flaunt tiny, tight skirts. In fact, when I walk home I think I might be the only girl out and about who is not wearing black tights under a skirt. The girls here dress up, and it's rare to see a female in athletic clothing, especially the kind that isn't tight-fitting. Oh well. I prefer my oversized Iowa sweatshirt and Nike running shoes, probably just as much as all the European guys must prefer their attractive gym wear.